Advancing the rights of working families.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) was a major first step in the effort to recognize and support the work of caring for families.  The FMLA guarantees certain workers unpaid job-protected leave for up to 12 weeks to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member, recover from one’s own serious health condition, or to deal with certain obligations (including child care activities) arising from a spouse, parent or child being on, or called to, active duty in the military.  The FMLA also provides up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave for workers whose spouse, child, parent or next of kin is a seriously ill or injured member of the armed services.

 

Know Your FMLA Rights

Far too many workers are unaware of their rights under the FMLA.  A Better Balance has prepared two fact sheets with detailed information:

 

Limitations of the FMLA

Although the FMLA assists many Americans, the legislative compromises necessary to pass the bill left gaping holes, through which millions of individuals and families fall.

  • The FMLA excludes employers with fewer than 50 employees, which excludes approximately half of the private workforce from its protections.
  • Because FMLA leave is unpaid, many workers who are eligible to take time off cannot afford to do so. One study found that as many as three out of four covered employees did not take FMLA leave because they could not afford unpaid leave.
  • The FMLA excludes many part-time workers, because it doesn't apply to employees who work fewer than 1,250 hours in a year.
  • The FMLA’s definition of family members does not include domestic partners.  And due to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, LGBT workers cannot take FMLA leave to care for a seriously ill same-sex spouse.

 

State Responses to the FMLA

A number of states have passed laws to address some of these gaps in the FMLA.  Click here to read more about state family and medical leave laws that differ from the FMLA.  For a list of state family and medical leave bills introduced in 2010, click here.

 

Federal Legislative Efforts on Family and Medical Leave

The Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act (S. 1283 / H.R. 2364) was introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives in July 2011.  The bill would expand the FMLA to allow workers to take leave to care for a same-sex spouse, domestic partner, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, grandchild, or grandparent who has a serious health condition.

The Family Fairness Act of 2009 (H.R. 389) will be re-introduced by Representative Baldwin in the House of Representatives this year.  The bill would eliminate the hours of service requirement in the FMLA, thus extending FMLA benefits to many part-time workers.

The Parental Bereavement Act of 2011 (S. 1358) was introduced by Senator Tester in July 2011.  The bill would allow workers covered by the FMLA to take leave due to the death of a son or daughter. 

The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 (S. 1102 / H.R. 2517) will be introduced in Congress again this year.  The bill would entitle the domestic partners of federal employees to the same benefits that are available to the spouses of federal employees.

 

FMLA Regulations and Department of Labor Interpretations

On June 22, 2010, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued an interpretation clarifying that the FMLA’s definition of “son or daughter” is broad enough to include LGBT parents who have no biological or legal relationship to the children they are raising.  Click here to read the DOL interpretation, and click here to learn more about the FMLA rights of LGBT families.

In January 2008, the President signed into law the Military Expansion for Injured Servicemembers Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.  The law provided important family leave benefits to military families and constituted the first expansion of the FMLA since 1993.  On November 17, 2008, the Department of Labor released new, two-part final FMLA regulations that implemented and clarified the Military Expansion for Injured Servicemembers Act but also made it more difficult for other workers to access needed FMLA leave.  To learn more about these FMLA regulations, please see the following resources:

 

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